Bill Pascrell – Moe Lane

Anti-Semitic stalking horses in NJ-09 Democratic primary?

It’s getting a little ugly in the NJ-09 primary. To refresh people’s memory: the recent redistricting in New Jersey (which lost one seat) ended up with producing a situation where eight term Democratic Congressman Bill Pascrell is challenging eight term Democratic Congressman Steve Rothman for the NJ-09 seat. Or perhaps it’s the other way around: the new district draws on both old districts pretty heavily. Anyway, the race is becoming… ugly.

How ugly? Ugly enough that people like local activist Dr. Aref Assaf are writing op-eds with titles like “Rothman is Israel’s man in District 9” (H/T: Powerline). This is causing some consternation in New Jersey Democratic circles; while people reading this post may be by now more or less used – or resigned – to the idea that the activist Left feels increasingly comfortable with at least implying that pro-Israel politicians have divided loyalties*, it’s not necessarily as obvious to rank-and-file Democrats that things have gotten worse along these particular lines. And it’s all being complicated by Pascrell’s disinclination to actually condemn the original article – something that has people wondering why.

Continue reading Anti-Semitic stalking horses in NJ-09 Democratic primary?

The Tuesday Weinergate Democratic screaming match.

If you have ever wondered why the GOP leadership’s first instinct in time of scandal* is to immediately jettison the offenders (whether they like it or not)… well, there’s a reason for that: it rarely gets better if you let things fester. Case in point… Politico reports that a Democratic caucus Tuesday devolved into a bit of a screaming match; Rep. Bill Pascrell of New Jersey felt obligated to chastise Rep. Allyson Schwartz of Pennsylvania over the latter’s call for Weiner’s resignation. Pascrell has appointed himself as Weiner’s unofficial defender, which means that he apparently feels entitled to dictate to others (especially, well, female others) what is or is not an acceptable response to Weiner’s poor life choices.

Anyway, it got so bad that they had to send the aides out of the room, lest they gossip and leak – which didn’t help, of course. It never does. What does help in these cases is clear-headed pragmatism and the moral courage to accept a bit of pain now to avoid more pain later… which is why the Democrats are still in this mess (they haven’t even stripped this guy of his committees yet!), because their leadership is apparently incapable of either. It’s enough to make an outside observer want to give two for flinching. Continue reading The Tuesday Weinergate Democratic screaming match.

Hey, what do these twelve legislators have in common?

This is via That’s My Congress, which is about to become very confused about why it’s getting traffic from a VRWC site. Here’s the list:

Lois Capps
Michael Capuano
Ben Cardin
Diana DeGette
Eliot Engel
Barney Frank
Alan Grayson
Carolyn McCarthy
Bill Pascrell
Adam Schiff
Allyson Schwartz
Heath Shuler

…and they have two things in common. First, they’re all Democrats. Second, they all have email addresses with Erickson & Company. And what is Erickson & Company? As That’s My Congress puts it:

Erickson & Company is not a lobbying firm. Instead, it helps set up events like the Heath Shuler’s BBQ, at which lobbyists and other people seeking special favors can come, check in hand, to pay for access to elected officials and their aides.

In other words, it’s a legal [and Democratic-aligned] money-laundering facility for lobbyists. Need to toss Heath Shuler some cash, but you’re a dirty lobbyist? Well, go to Shuler’s little BBQ (run by a go-between), drop a grand for a plate of food, and say hi! No fuss, no muss, no need for disclosure. Shuler’s happy: he’s getting his cut of your entry fee. The go-between is happy: it’s getting its cut of your entry fee. And you’re happy: this is a lot cheaper than a maximum campaign contribution would be.

So remember this, the next time anybody on that list – or, honestly, any Democrat – talks about the evil of lobbying: the sound you hear isn’t scorn towards those who would try to pay for influence. Nope. It’s scorn towards the rubes who don’t know how to tell when a Democrat is gaming the system.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.